Hey X-Lifers!

A few weeks ago we had a special presentation on pornography by Police Officeer, Constable Michelle Nisbitt. If you've ever seen pornography, you were probably quite shocked! Some people find pornography funny, weird, disturbing or exciting. Well, don't be ashamed that you are curious. Curiosity is totally natural. The only problem with pornography is that it is addictive. It’s no different than smoking or trying addictive drugs. Once the hook is in you, it is very difficult to get free again. You should be concerned about this because the potential danger to your future is very real. When you finally find the right person to spend the rest of your life with, we want it to be the very best experience of your life. And pornography can reduce or even destroy your emotional intimacy. That’s why we wanted to talk to you about the destructive nature of pornography.

                                                                                                                     
 Here’s a sad story of one person’s addiction to pornography:
                                                                                                                     

      A 12 year old boy found some pornographic magazines in a closet. His instincts told him that he shouldn’t look at them, but he disregarded these feelings and looked at the pictures.  Within a short time, he found he was addicted to looking. He didn’t realize that he had awakened sexual feelings that weren’t meant to be awakened yet. Not only that, but he found that over the years, his desire for pornography got more intense (just like drug addiction). He recognized this was a problem but didn’t know what to do about it.
        One day, years later, he fell in love with a really sweet girl. She was kind, smart, funny and had the most beautiful eyes. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. One day they married each other. She was his best friend and He wanted to tell her about his addiction, but just couldn't. Every day he was tortured with his hidden sin. Of course, his wife eventually found out years later and when she did, she felt heartbroken and betrayed. This really damaged her ability to trust him and their relationship was never the same. Their fairytale ended unhappily, all because he didn’t control himself when he was younger.

This is a story that I don’t want you to have for your life. I want you to have a VERY happy ending!!! It is possible!!!!

Here's how to deal with porn temptation:

The bible says ‘run from lusts’. Notice it doesn’t say ‘fight it and you can overcome’. No, it tells us to run away from it. God is smarter than we are and knows we can’t fight lust the way we might fight other temptations.

     The best way to avoid addiction is to stay clear of pornography altogether. Don’t even let it get close to you. Don't allow yourself to fantasize, because addiction begins in your own mind. To the best of your ability, try to never violate your conscience (your conscience tells you what is right and wrong). This is God's way of warning you of danger. If you violate your conscience, eventually it will become dull and you will lose the ability to hear God's warnings.

     The bible speaks of the dangers of lust comparing it to the dangers of fire, ‘can a man put his hand in the fire and not be burned'? The answer of course, is NO. The same is true with pornography. There will always be a negative consequence to looking at porn. The bible says ‘protect your mind with all diligence, for out of it will flow your very life’. What you put into your mind can never be erased. There is no ‘delete’ key for your brain. If you let something inside, it stays there and becomes part of you. You’ve probably heard the saying ‘you are what you eat’. This is also true of your thoughts. If you ‘eat’ bad information such as pornography, it forever stamps your emotions. Your thoughts and emotions are important to your happiness and you shouldn’t let anything less than the best thoughts live inside your brain. You are the only one who can protect your mind. So I want to encourage you to run from pornography.  David, who wrote in Psalms103:3-4 in the bible said: "I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar...I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil".    It takes a huge effort to do this, but I guarantee that you will have a higher quality life because of this wisdom.

Here's practical ways to do this....

When porn pops up on your computer, tell your parents so that they can find out how those pictures are getting into your computer. Maybe the firewalls got shut down somehow. When you are on a friend’s computer and porn ads pop up, look away. When you are flicking through channels on the TV and you see stuff that is pornographic (even some stuff on MTV is more than we should see), quickly turn away and then change the channel. When you go to a movie and suddenly there is a sex scene, do yourself a favor and look away. And try to avoid movies with sexual content. Then be proud of yourself for exercising self control. It’s the hard thing to do, but later in life, you will be happy you did it. It’s like putting money in the bank. It’s a sacrifice while you are doing it, but it earns interest and later you can take it out and enjoy it. Jesus wants you to have a happy and fulfilled love life. But at the right time. And that time is not now. Be patient and trust the Lord. He will take care of all your needs – all your life!

 What to do with addiction:

    If you have already come into contact with pornography and find the desire to look at it more than you can handle, you can still get free from it. But not by yourself. You will need the help of others, such as your mom, dad, counselor at school or leaders in the youth group or church. If you ever want to talk privately with Constable Michelle (about any issue), she would love to help you. Her phone number is 604-905-1963 extension 4837. It is very difficult to confess your weaknesses to others. But, look at it this way; we all have problems and as we get older, confessing our faults to one another is a fairly normal thing. Admitting to weakness is a healthy part of becoming a mature adult. If you always pretend you are stronger than you are, you are not really being honest with yourself. There is not a person on the planet that can solve all their problems on their own. God created us to need each other. It is natural to fail. Don’t feel condemned. God has a plan for your life and He wants you to be free from addiction to pornography.

 If you have desires you can’t control, do this:

     Make a commitment right now to confess the desires, within one week, to one of the people on the list we just mentioned. Then pray this prayer; “Heavenly Father, I’ve really messed up. Please forgive me. I want to do what is right and I want to be free from pornography. Help me to be brave and to confess my addiction within one week, in Jesus name, Amen”. And then remember this; God will always forgive you and He gives grace to the humble. God gives grace (undeserved favor) to the humble (those low in spirit and who don’t mind confessing their weaknesses to God and their true friends). Humble yourself before the Lord. Instead of being humiliated, God will raise you up and give you his favor.